€600/ac was the highest price reported to AgriLand in a round-up of leasing prices this week. That €600/ac was paid for grassland which will be put into potatoes in Co. Meath.
The highest price reported for grassland (remaining in grass) was €500/ac in Co. Kilkenny. Grassland across the wider Leinster region can make up to €300/ac. However, poorer-quality offerings are going for as little as €160/ac.
Cropping – as always – is affecting price and, while dairy farmers continue to look for land, tillage farmers are paying large sums to secure potato and vegetable ground.
The quality of grass and availability of good infrastructure, as ever, affects the price; proximity to a parlour is driving prices up significantly in places.
Cereals
In Co. Kildare, land being leased for cereals ranges from €140/ac to €220/ac. Prices are starting at €180/ac in Co. Wicklow, but the maximum reported was €220/ac.
Demand is extremely high in Co. Wexford. Prices are in the €200-250/ac bracket, but are as high as €270/ac. Moving to Co. Offaly, land for cereals is being signed up for €150-200/ac.
€190-210/ac is the going rate for land for cereal cropping in Co. Meath.
Those leasing land for cereals in Co. Kilkenny are paying between €220/ac and €230/ac. Furthermore, land for maize there is attracting €250-260/ac.
Potatoes and vegetables
As stated above, the highest price reported to AgriLand for land for potatoes was €600/ac (after grassland) in Co. Meath. Land for potatoes, later in the rotation, is being leased for €400-450/ac.
In Co. Kildare, land for potatoes is leasing for €300-500/ac. Prices (for this crop) in Co. Wexford start at €300/ac.
Land is in demand for potatoes and vegetables in Co. Kilkenny, with reports of some of the large Dublin growers looking for land that far south. Ground for potatoes is leasing for €550/ac.
Farmers looking to rent land there for carrots and lettuce can expect to pay €500/ac and €400/ac respectively. Turnips are being sown in land costing €375/ac.
Grassland
Grassland varies in price, depending on quality and location.
€500/ac – in Co. Kilkenny – was the highest price quoted to AgriLand for grassland in the Leinster region. Silage and grazing ground – that has water and is well-fenced – is being leased for €250-300/ac in many instances.
Well-fenced grazing platforms in Co. Kildare are being leased for €160-170/ac. Good-quality grassland for dairying is costlier; it stands at €270-350/ac.
In general, grassland in Co. Wexford is ranging between €200/ac and €250/ac, but is reaching as high as €290/ac in some parts of the county. In nearby Co. Wicklow, grassland is averaging €250/ac. Upland grazing currently stands at €150-200/ac.
Moving across to Co. Offaly, marginal land is at €120-150/ac. High-quality grazing land that has water and is fenced is leasing out for €200-230/ac.
In Co. Meath, rough grazing is making €150-190/ac. At the higher end of the scale, prices are dependent on location and proximity to farmers’ other land. Good-quality grazing ground, near a milking parlour, is going for €350/ac.
Marginal land in Co. Westmeath is leasing out for €100-150/ac, while good-quality grass is higher – at €150-200/ac.